Serbia: Former Michigan Wolverine Joins Jagodina Black Hornets

Boubacar Cissoko was born in Guinea, but he was raised in Detroit, Michigan where he attended one of the most prestigious high schools, Cass Technical. Coming out of high school, Boubacar was ranked one of the top players in the nation. He received over 60 scholarship offers including ones from LSU, Penn State, Georgia, Tennessee...

After winning the player of the year award from state Michigan, he chose to stay in his home state and commit to the University of Michigan. Boubacar was also selected to play in the Army All American All star game.

As a true freshman, Boubacar was the starting cornerback for the Wolverines and had also seen a lot of action on special teams returning kickoffs. Though his college career ended shortly than it was expected, after facing and overcoming a lot of adversity, Boubacar started his professional career in 2012 with the Chicago Rush of the AFL. He played for multiple arena teams including the New Orleans Voodoo, Trenton Freedom, Georgia Fire and most recently in 2016 the Tri-Cities Fever.

Prior to signing with the Black Hornets, what did you know about football in Europe?- I honestly didn't know much about it. I knew that football was played there as well, it is becoming popular in Europe. It is good that leagues allow teams to bring in American players because they can pass the knowledge of the game to their European teammates and spread the game throughout the continent.

You are an AFL veteran, what are the highlights of your indoor football career?- I have played for many good teams in arena league, I had some good times and did a lot of good things to help my team be successful. My most memorable moments had to be in 2016. We had a good season with me earning the spot on All IFL defensive backs list accumulating 62 tackles, 6 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles.

What made you choose the Black Hornets?- I chose the Black Hornets because it felt right from the very moment. I liked what the coach was telling me, we agreed on a lot of things,seems we were on the same page throughout the whole recruiting process. It just felt like I belong with the Black Hornets.

What do you think you bring to Jagodina?- I will bring passion, intensity, a lot of fun for the fans to enjoy, but most of all - wins!I will help my teammates reach their full potential and help them in any way I can, because I believe that in the game of football, teamwork is the ultimate key so success

What are your expectations for the upcoming season?- I don't expect nothing more but to win! That's what I am here for. I believe that my teammates will all come together as one and help the Black Hornets reach the top!

Head coach Andreja Živković on Boubacar:He was the top 5 cornerback prospect nationally, in college he went up against today's top NFL receivers such as Golden Tate, Michael Floyd... He played at the top level of indoor football and was selected to all league teams. From watching his film you can see how aggressive his playing style is, his footwork and catch-up speed are just top notch. If you take a look at his film from last season, you can see that he was given the most difficult task on defense, which is covering the motion receiver, but he made it look so easy. On top of that, Boubacar was a class act throughout the whole process and I'm confident that he will bring great success to our program.